Marubeni Corporation, a trading and investment business, has reportedly entered a strategic partnership deal with Retriev Technologies Inc., a battery recycling company. This partnership agreement has been inked in a bid to develop a new circular business for EOL LiB (end-of-life lithium-ion batteries). With this partnership, the two companies will jointly form a business model through which valuable metals obtained from EOL LiB can be reused.
For the uninitiated, Retriev is a leading company functioning in the battery recycling industry in North America. The company has maintained a strong track record of recycling lithium-ion batteries, which highlights its commitment to recycling solutions and management. Its process involves crushing the batteries and retrieving the valuable metals. On the other hand, Marubeni has expanded its footprint in the battery industry via initiatives such as the acquisition of exclusive rights to selling Zambian cobalt in Japan, as well as trading other critical raw materials in this industry.
Under the recent partnership, Marubeni and Retriev will also cooperate with a chemical maker that possesses high technical knowledge and expertise via their experiences in the rechargeable battery industries. This chemical maker also produces cathodes, battery precursors, and sulphates for the rechargeable batteries used in electric vehicles and consumer products.
Additionally, the two companies will form a circular business model for the battery industry to ensure Battery to Battery Closed Loop Recycling, as well as contribute to the development of a sustainable global society, by developing and promoting new circular businesses.
Rapid increase in demand for electric vehicles will directly impact the level of the EOL LiB being generated, thereby creating a significant surge in the LiB market. Due to the anticipated growth of this LiB industry, the proper waste management of EOL LiB will be one of the critical challenges worldwide to increase the sustainability of the supply chain of batteries.
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